Menu
Dr. Weil Logo Dr. Weil Logo Weil™ Andrew Weil, M.D.
  • Health & Wellness
    Health & Wellness
    Body, Mind & Spirit
    • Addiction
    • Allergy & Asthma
    • Autoimmune Disorders
    • Back Pain
    • Bone & Joint
    • Cancer
    • Colds & Flu
    • Dental & Oral
    • Diabetes
    • Disease & Disorders
    • Ears, Nose, & Throat
    • Feet
    • Gastrointestinal
    • Hair, Skin, & Nails
    • Headache
    • Heart
    • Insects & Parasites
    • Liver & Kidney
    • Mental Health
    • Pregnancy & Fertility
    • Respiratory
    • Sexual Health
    • Sleep Issues
    • Stress & Anxiety
    • Vision
    Balanced Living
    • Exercise & Fitness
    • Gardening
    • Healthy Home
    • Healthy Living
    • Meditation & Inspiration
    • Meet Dr. Weil
    • Pets & Pet Care
    • Technology
    • Wellness Therapies
    Health Centers
    • Aging Gracefully
    • Children
    • Condition Care Guide
    • Men
    • Women
  • Diet & Nutrition
    Diet & Nutrition
    Anti-Inflammatory Diet & Pyramid
    Anti-Inflammatory Diet Pyramid
    Cooking & Cookware
    Healthy Cooking & Cookware
    Diets & Weight Loss
    Diets & Weight Loss
    Food Safety
    Diets & Nutrition - Food Safety
    Nutrition
    healthy nutrition
    Recipes
    healthy recipes
  • Vitamins, Supplements & Herbs
    Vitamins, Supplements & Herbs
    Herbs
    herbal remedies - herbs
    Supplements & Remedies
    suppliments & remedies
    Vitamins
    ask-dr-weil_vitamins-supplements-herbs_vitamins-topnav
  • Ask Dr. Weil
  • Blogs
    Blogs
    Bulletins
    The Legacy Of Living Yes | Spontaneous Happiness | Andrew Weil, M.D.
    Health Tips
    Healthy Drinks To Start Sipping | Andrew Weil, M.D.
    Spontaneous Happiness
    blog_spontaneous-happiness_topnav
  • COVID-19
  • Dr. Weil Origins Skin Care
  • Marketplace
  • Healthy Aging
  • Podcasts
  • Meet Dr. Weil
  • Accessibility
  • Subscribe
Nuts For Weight Control?
Subscribe
Press "Enter" to search
  1. Home
  2. Diet & Nutrition
  3. Diets & Weight Loss

Nuts For Weight Control?

I love nuts but try to avoid them because they’re so high in calories. Then I heard that they can help you lose weight. Could this be true?

Andrew Weil, M.D. |February 25, 2019

Nuts For Weight Control? | Diets & Weight Loss | Andrew Weil, M.D.
2 min

I wouldn’t necessarily consider nuts to be diet food, but recent research does suggest that consuming them daily could help you reduce the risk of gaining weight over the years. While that’s not the same as helping you lose weight, it is likely welcome news for people who shun nuts because of their calories. A second recent study found that eating Brazil nuts can increase a sense of fullness, reduce hunger and improve blood glucose and insulin responses, changes that might help prevent diabetes and weight gain.

In the first study, researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health tracked thousands of health professionals, including 25,394 men in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, 53,541 women in the Nurse’s Health Study and 47,255 women in the Nurse’s Health Study II. None had any chronic diseases when the study began. Every four years these individuals responded to a food frequency questionnaire which asked about nut consumption. Results showed that, over time, eating one one-ounce serving of any type of nuts or peanuts daily instead OF low-quality foods like potato chips, desserts, French fries or red or processed meats was linked to a lower risk of gaining weight and becoming obese.

Xiaoran Liu, Ph.D., first author of the study, noted that once people become adults, they begin to gain about one pound a year, which can add up to a lot of excess weight. By adding an ounce of nuts to your diet in place of less healthy foods, she said you might be able to prevent the weight gain and reduce your risk of obesity-related cardiovascular diseases.

The study focused on Brazil nuts compared them to pretzels, which contain about the same number of calories and sodium. This research, from San Diego State University, sought to determine how eating these two foods would affect hunger, a sense of feeling full as well as glucose and insulin responses. Participants included 20 women and two men, age 20 or older, who were healthy and not overweight. The study group consumed either 36 grams (about 1.3 ounces) of pretzels or 20 grams of Brazil nuts (about 5 nuts) in addition to their usual foods. They did this twice with a 48-hour break in between.

Results showed that both the nuts and the pretzels tamped down hunger and increased a sense of fullness, but eating pretzels caused a significant increase in blood glucose and insulin 40 minutes later. No such changes occurred as a result of eating Brazil nuts, which are high in selenium, a trace mineral that has been linked with improvements in insulin and glucose responses. These findings suggest that consuming Brazil nuts might help prevent weight gain and diabetes according to study senior author Mee Young Hong, Ph.D. However, since most of the study participants were women, she said the findings couldn’t be generalized to men.

If these preliminary findings hold up over time, consuming nuts instead of less healthful foods may help you keep your weight in check as long as you don’t go overboard and eat more than one one-ounce serving daily. Here’s where you can learn more about the health benefits of nuts, in addition to my recommendations for storing them safely.

Andrew Weil, M.D.

Source:
American Heart Association, “Nuts for nuts? Daily serving may help control weight and benefit health,” Scientific presentations, November 10, 2018, American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2018, Chicago, IL.

Dr. Weil on Healthy Aging

Start Your 14-Day Free Trial

Free Newsletters

Stay Connected With Dr. Weil

Anti-Inflammatory Diet

Follow Dr. Weil’s Food Pyramid

Get Dr Weils Newsletter Updates

Exclusive Lifestyle, Nutrition & Health Advice

Dr. Weil's FREE health living advice delivered to you!

By clicking "Subscribe," you agree to the DrWeil.com Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. You also agree to receive emails from DrWeil.com, and you may opt out of DrWeil.com subscriptions at any time.

Trending Now

An athlete is riding a bicycle on road. The man is wearing black bike shorts and shin guards along with a red sleeveless top and a red and white helmet and sunglasses. The image is blurred in motion.
Diets & Weight Loss

7-Keto: Supplement to Speed Metabolism?

A Flexitarian Diet | Diets & Weight Loss | Andrew Weil, M.D.
Diets & Weight Loss

A Flexitarian Diet

A Green Mediterranean Diet? | Diets & Weight Loss | Andrew Weil, M.D.
Diets & Weight Loss

A Green Mediterranean Diet?

Does Weight Loss Prevent Breast Cancer? |Women | Andrew Weil, M.D.
Diets & Weight Loss

A Hormone to Promote Weight Loss?

Get Dr Weils Newsletter Updates

Stay Connected With Dr. Weil - Get Free Newsletters Right In Your Inbox

Exclusive Lifestyle, Nutrition & Health Advice

Dr. Weil Logo Weil™ Andrew Weil, M.D.
Information
  • About Us
  • Press Information
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Manage Email Subscription
Trending Articles
An athlete is riding a bicycle on road. The man is wearing black bike shorts and shin guards along with a red sleeveless top and a red and white helmet and sunglasses. The image is blurred in motion.
Diets & Weight Loss

7-Keto: Supplement to Speed Metabolism?

A Flexitarian Diet | Diets & Weight Loss | Andrew Weil, M.D.
Diets & Weight Loss

A Flexitarian Diet

Daily Tips
Can Mushrooms Benefit Breast Cancer Patients? | Andrew Weil, M.D.
Health Tips

Can Mushrooms Benefit Breast Cancer Patients?

Mushrooms Are Amazing!
Health Tips

Mushrooms For Memory

  • Flickr
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram

Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

Information on this website is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional. You should not use the information on this website for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing any medication or other treatment. Any third party offering or advertising on this website does not constitute an endorsement by Andrew Weil, M.D. or Healthy Lifestyle Brands.

©Copyright2023 Healthy Lifestyle Brands, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. www.drweil.com